The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Sciences, and the Myth of Free Will
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
Few concepts are more unshakable in Western culture than free will, the idea that people are fundamentally free to make good or bad decisions. Scholar Heidi M. Ravven throws a wrench into this conventional view, calling free will a myth that reflects the still-powerful influence of Christian theology on our popular thinking.
Read more
The Self Beyond Itself offers a riveting and accessible review of modern neuroscientific research into the brain's capacity for decision-making — from mirror neurons and self-mapping to surprising new understandings of the dynamics of group psychology. Ultimately, this research points to the profound, virtually inescapable social influences on moral choices. Ravven shows that it is possible to build a theory of ethics that doesn't rely on free will yet still holds both individuals and groups responsible for the decisions that help create a good society. Drawing especially on the work of Spinoza, she introduces readers to a rich philosophical tradition that finds uncanny confirmation in modern neuroscience.
Highly readable and wide-ranging, The Self Beyond Itself injects the full weight of philosophy and modern science into our current, stale discourse on right and wrong.
Liked The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Sciences, and the Myth of Free Will? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Sciences, and the Myth of Free Will. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
The Illusion of Conscious Will Shares philosophy, psychology, science -
Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking Shares philosophy, psychology, science -
The Ghost in the Machine Shares philosophy, psychology, science -
Consciousness and Its Implications Shares philosophy, psychology, science
“If you want more of the same (philosophy about morality), start with these.”
“If it was the psychology that hooked you, try one of these.”
“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”
-
The Mind Within the Brain: How We Make Decisions and How Those Decisions Go Wrong
-
What Makes Us Think?: A Neuroscientist and a Philosopher Argue about Ethics, Human Nature, and the Brain
-
Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them
-
Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others